New Delhi
Seniormost Election Commissioner Sunil Arora today took charge as the Chief Election Commissioner, a day after Om Prakash Rawat demitted the office.

In his joining statement, Arora expressed hope that he would get cooperation from all political parties and people in holding “totally free, fair and ethical” elections.
Arora, a 1980-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, is the 23rd CEC. He was appointed an Election Commissioner on August 31, 2017.

The 62-year-old former bureaucrat will have a tenure till October 2021. This means that besides the next Lok Sabha elections in 2019, he will also lead the poll panel in conducting Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

Arora has been the Information and Broadcasting Secretary and Secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. He has also worked in ministries such as Finance, Textiles and Planning Commission.